Homelessness in the San Francisco Bay Area

San Francisco's dense, compact development pattern, its comparative lack of vacant land (i.e., beneath freeways, alongside creeks), and its high volumes of pedestrians tend to limit homeless encampments to the city's sidewalks and are thus more readily visible to the general public.

[10] Jennifer Wolch identifies some of these factors to include the loss of jobs from deindustrialization, a rapid rise in housing prices, and the elimination of social welfare programs.

This transfer was not smooth, as many previously institutionalized patients found themselves back in society with less support than they were accustomed to and few possessed the professional skills or resources needed to successfully transition.

Judges would respond to unpaid fines by issuing arrest warrants, resulting in the incarceration of homeless people when the same resources used to jail the inmates could instead go towards expanding shelter services.

Matrix police were authorized to give psychological field tests to determine if a homeless person was acting erratically and were the deciding force on whether or not to bring them to the hospital for mental services.

[27] Riding a robust economy and operating under a patronage system that benefited his allies and restricted political opponents, Brown was able to secure a second term despite policies that alienated his liberal base, including his harsher-than-expected treatment of the city's homeless.

[30] His claim that handouts cause crime rates to spike and increased hospitalization has been disputed by some academic studies conducted in San Francisco, which have found an inverse relationship between recipients of monetary subsidies and risky behaviors such as substance usage.

[31] Care Not Cash resulted in approximately 1,200 homeless people finding shelter via the usage of Single Room Occupancy (SRO) units in hotels throughout the city, however those that did not receive housing found life on the streets even more difficult due to the sharp funding cuts.

[44] The success of Project Roomkey and Rehousing Strategy laid the groundwork for the Homekey grant program, administered by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).

[49] Reasons cited for homelessness in the 2019 survey commissioned by the City of San Francisco include job loss (26%), alcohol/drug use (18%), eviction (13%), argument/asked to leave by friend/family (12%), mental health issues (8%), and divorce/separation (5%).

The number of people without homes grew in the 1980s in San Francisco, as wages stagnated and funding for welfare reform was cut, eliminating the social safety net.

Melody Tullier's research identifies that as rates of gentrification in Alameda County grew between 2005 and 2013, low-tract census populations had an increase in incidents of preventable mortality, specifically due to suicide, homicide, diabetes, HIV, and nutritional deficiencies.

Anti-displacement advocates received success in gaining representation in SF's Planning Department and in advancing new regulations (e.g., inclusionary zoning) to protect and create affordable housing, which led to a shift from citywide to district legislative elections to address neighborhood concerns at the city level.

During this protest, they demanded for "the immediate divestment of city funds for policing and investment in sustainable, affordable housing so Black, Brown, and Indigenous people can remain in their hometowns of Oakland and San Francisco.

Zoning was originally executed as a public health prevention policy to ensure industrial emissions are separated from residential areas but has since been manipulated by homeowners to artificially drive up the price of housing.

Since the residents of high-cost, high-demand neighborhoods tend to have mobility, money, and access to information and power, they are hugely successful in leveraging land-use policies to exclude newcomers.

The anti-development orientation of certain cities is turning them into preserves for the wealthy as housing costs increase beyond what lower-income families can afford to pay, which displaces communities and residents of low-income areas, leading to rising rates of homelessness.

Not only are homeless populations more exposed to infectious diseases, injuries, and psychosocial pressures that lead to mental health issues, but they also rarely receive adequate care from the San Francisco area healthcare system.

They hope to achieve more accurate counts by providing training and statewide technical assistance activities to support California communities toward improved youth inclusion.

[113] Unpaid fines can often result in arrests and criminal records, which makes it more difficult to gain employment and encourages avoidance of future contact with social services due to fear of punishment.

[needs update] The goal of this legislation, as authored by State Senator Scott Wiener, is to improve the health of people suffering from substance abuse disorders or severe mental illness and has the potential to directly impact the homeless population of San Francisco.

[120] With the support of Senator Weiner and Mayor Breed, San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman introduced a bill in October 2018 that outlined the conservatorship criteria for the city.

The bill mimics Wiener's legislation as it identifies those who are homeless and frequently utilize emergency services due to severe mental illness or substance use disorder as likely candidates for intervention.

It is funded by a $3 million anonymous donation and is based on the belief that people experiencing homelessness would be more receptive to utilizing shelters if they were "allowed to stay with their possessions, partners, and pets.” The first Navigation Center opened in 2015 at a former school building in the Mission District.

[125] Navigation Center provides otherwise unsheltered residents of San Francisco with room and board while case managers work to connect them to income, public benefits, health services, shelter, and housing.

[129] Breed's proposal was supported by tech giants Marc Benioff, Jack Dorsey, while local residents opposed to the idea which engulfed them into a 2 month long heated debate.

SI clusters are a result of socially-oriented organizations working in close proximity with like-minded companies, which have developed more ideas for social entrepreneurship and venture philanthropy.

[132] Since the beginning of March 2020, at the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, many non-state actors participated in the housing effort to move unhoused individuals into safe and sanitized shelter-in-place rooms.

[154] Many people experiencing homelessness opt out of taking aid from shelters due to the rigorous rules and requirements that limit accessibility and personal safety in the spaces.

[159] General: The doctors group told the San Francisco delegation that while they loved the city, postconvention surveys showed their members were afraid to walk amid the open drug use, threatening behavior and mental illness that are common on the streets.Two solutions would work.